The life and death of psychoanalysis : on unconscious desire and its sublimation

"The author believes the discovery of psychoanalysis cannot be separated from Freud's self-analysis and the foundational act of writing about his own dreams. Now that the hype, the 100 years of excitement and building up of the institution of psychoanalysis, is in decline, the time seems ripe for a return to the question of the truth of the discovery of the unconscious. This book seeks to take up this crisis and return psychoanalysis to a discourse relevant to contemporary thought as a more personal story of what it means to become a psychoanalyst. The work is divided into three sections, each organized around a major thinker whose work is defined by a definitive engagement with psychoanalysis: Adorno, Lacan and Badiou. Each section is marked by a careful reading of these thinkers, attempting to deconstruct their understanding of psychoanalysis, including how this work has shaped the author's identity as a psychoanalyst."--Provided by publisher. From its peculiar birth in Freud's self-analysis to its current state of deep crisis, psychoanalysis has always been a practice that questions its own existence. Like the patients that risk themselves in this act of questioning - it is somehow upon this threatened ground that the very life of psychoanalysis depends. Perhaps psychoanalysis must always remain in a precarious, indeed ghostly, position at the limit of life and death?In this book, Jamieson Webster argues that the life and death of psychoanalysis hinges on the question of desire itself, and attempts to bring this question back to the center of psychoanalytic thought and practice. The problem of desire is pursued through Webster's own relation to psychoanalysis, as she recounts the story of her training through the interpretation of three significant dreams, as well as her encounter with three thinkers for whom the problem of psychoanalysis remains central: Adorno, Lacan, and Badiou. In blurring the line between the personal and the theoretical, this book not only offers a novel interpretation of the philosophical and psychoanalytic meaning of desire, but also explores how one, through the difficult work of transference and reading, can live out the life of desire that tests the limits of what it means to be human. From its peculiar birth in Freud's self-analysis to its current state of deep crisis, psychoanalysis has always been a practice that questions its own existence. Like the patients that risk themselves in this act of questioning - it is somehow upon this threatened ground that the very life of psychoanalysis depends. Perhaps psychoanalysis must always remain in a precarious, indeed ghostly, position at the limit of life and death? In this book, Jamieson Webster argues that the life and death of psychoanalysis hinges on the question of desire itself, and attempts to bring this question back to the center of psychoanalytic thought and practice. The problem of desire is pursued through Webster's own relation to psychoanalysis, as she recounts the story of her training through the interpretation of three significant dreams, as well as her encounter with three thinkers for whom the problem of psychoanalysis remains central: Adorno, Lacan, and Badiou. In blurring the line between the personal and the theoretical, this book not only offers a novel interpretation of the philosophical and psychoanalytic meaning of desire, but also explores how one, through the difficult work of transference and reading, can live out the life of desire that tests the limits of what it means to be human From its peculiar birth in Freud's self-analysis to its current state of deep crisis, psychoanalysis has always been a practice that questions its own existence. Like the patients that risk themselves in this act - it is somehow upon this threatened ground that the very life of psychoanalysis depends. Perhaps psychoanalysis must always remain in a precarious, indeed ghostly, position at the limit of life and death? Jamieson Webster argues that the life and death of psychoanalysis hinges on the question of desire itself, bringing this question back to the center of psychoanalytic theory and practice. Pursued through her own relation to the field, she recounts the story of her training through the interpretation of three significant dreams, as well as her encounter with three thinkers for whom the problem of psychoanalysis remains crucial: Adorno, Lacan, and Badiou. In blurring the line between the personal and the theoretical, this book explores how one, through the difficult work of transference and reading, can live out the life of desire that tests the very limits of what it means to be human. From its peculiar birth in Freud's self-analysis to its current state of deep crisis, psychoanalysis has always been a practice that questions its own existence. This book argues that the life and death of psychoanalysis hinges on the question of desire itself, and brings this question back to the center of psychoanalytic thought and practice. Chapter One Fatigue and haste / Jamieson Webster -- chapter Adorno / Jamieson Webster -- chapter Two Angels of disenchantment / Jamieson Webster -- chapter Lacan / Jamieson Webster -- chapter Three Instructions on how to fell a tree / Jamieson Webster -- chapter Badiou / Jamieson Webster -- chapter Four Last remarks / Jamieson Webster. Jamieson Webster introduces reader time and again to the moment that inaugurates desire, including the desire for psychoanalysis. She recapitulates the major philosophical questions implied by psychoanalytic practice and shows what captures readers' attention, and what remains enigmatic. Ch. 1. Fatigue and haste Ch. 2. Angels of disenchantment Ch. 3 Instructions on how to fell a tree Ch. 4. Last remarks.